Referee was suspended for six months after kicking Aston Villa star and sending him off.

Referee was suspended for six months after kicking Aston Villa star and sending him off.

When referee Tony Chapron KICKED Diego Carlos and sent him off during a Ligue 1 match between Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain six years ago, mayhem broke out. As PSG attempted to score a second goal, Carlos unintentionally tripped Chapron, causing the incident to happen in the ninetieth minute. Chapron, who was still on the ground, chose to swing his leg in Carlos’ direction rather than maintain composure under duress, catching the Brazilian by the shin.

Chapron had a moment of insanity, but he made things worse by sending Carlos out with a red card. After what seemed to be an unintentional collision, Carlos, who was 24 at the time, looked reasonably perplexed by Chapron’s actions and the decision to send him out.

Everyone associated with Nantes – including several players – decided to surround Chapron in disbelief. In the aftermath, it was reported that Carlos had been handed a second yellow card for dissent, but Carlos’ red card was soon overturned, and he was available for their next match.

Chapron apologized to Carlos in a message he sent to the French media less than 48 hours after the game. “This careless gesture was not suitable. I would like to apologize to Diego Carlos as a result,” the 51-year-old added.

The FC Nantes player’s booking has been revoked after a supplemental report was submitted to the disciplinary committee since it appeared to me from the photos that his gesture was not voluntary. I ran into Diego Carlos throughout the contest. I was experiencing a strong pain on a recent injury at the time of impact. I accidentally pushed my leg out at the player due to a poor reflex.”

Despite Chapron’s apology, he received a six-month ban from the French Football Federation and then decided to end his refereeing career. It was the worst possible ending for Chapron, who had taken charge of over 400 Ligue 1 matches since 2004 and also refereed the 2014 Coupe de France final.

As for the game itself, Angel di Maria scored the only goal of the game to earn Unai Emery’s PSG the victory at Stade de la Beaujoire. It was a win that moved PSG 11 points clear of second-place Monaco at the time, but the result was completely overshadowed by Chapron’s moment of madness.

Speaking in November 2018, Chapron admitted that he felt he was treated more harshly than players for lashing out because he was a referee. “Just remember when Zinedine Zidane gave a headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final,” he told BBC’s World Football Podcast. He was a fantastic player, maybe one of the best in the world for many years. And the reaction in this situation with Zidane was not so big if you compare with my situation.”

Chapron has stirred up controversy before, either during or right after a game. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick for PSG against Lorient in March 2015, but Chapron wouldn’t give him the match ball. Normally, players who score three goals or more are awarded the match ball; however, the French referee denied the Swedish player’s request.

Alongside Emery, who was in the PSG dugout at that historic moment, Carlos is currently playing for Aston Villa. Carlos played for Nantes for 108 games before departing in 2019 to play for Sevilla. Before moving to Villa, he played three productive years and won one Europa League in Seville.

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